Tag Archives for Baby Boomers

Gubernatorial Candidates Put Spotlight on Rhode Island’s Fragmented LTC Continuum

Published in Pawtucket Times on August 8, 2022

Last week, hundreds of seniors and aging advocates gathered at East Providence High School to learn more about aging policy positions from 6 Rhode Island Gubernatorial candidates. Many more watched virtually as the event was streamed online.

During the 143-minute forum, the invited Gubernatorial candidates (five Democratic and one Republican, gave two-minute responses to seven questions previously given to them and hammered out by the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island (SACRI) and its 17 cosponsors, that would elicit how each, if elected Governor, would fix Rhode Island’s fragmented long-term care continuum and provider payment systems.

According to Bernard J. Beaudreau, Executive Director of the Providence-based SACRI about 300 seniors and aging advocates came to personally see the Gubernatorial candidates outline their position on aging issues. Multiple platforms on Facebook and YouTube were promoted by a variety of senior advocacy groups that resulted in the over 300 virtual audience. Some held “watch parties” at one or more of the 12 senior centers, with approximately 135 people participating from throughout the state.

Before the forum began at 10:00 a.m., Deborah Burton, Executive Director of RI Elder Info, one of the forum’s sponsors, provided the welcome, explaining why it was so important for older voters to understand the aging agenda of the next Rhode Island Governor and their commitment to funnel funding and resources to the state’s aging program and services. “The policies of the incoming Governor will impact a large number of baby boomers in the state,” said Burton, noting that the Gen X’s, often forgotten, are right behind them. “We need to have a system [long-term care continuum] in place that is effective, that is funded, and is what we need and want as we age,” she said.

“It was very evident that these candidates came prepared and took the forum and all the issues impacting older Rhode Islanders very seriously,” said a very pleased Beaudreau.

Talking the Talk about Senior Issues

Here is a sampling of policy issues touched on by the candidates:

The attending candidates gave their thoughts as to how they would rebuild and sustain a viable workforce of nursing homes and homecare providers.

Two term Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea said she felt that we, as a society, do not value caregiving. She called for investing in the workforce of nursing home providers by increases tothe state’s Medicaid rates. The educational sector can become a pipeline to “nurture and grow” jobs for this sector, she said.

Governor Dan McKee stated he addressed staffing issues at home health agencies and nursing homes by expanding the Wavemaker Fellowships to include healthcare workers and increasing reimbursement rates for home health agencies by $ 900,000 annually. McKee also noted that in last year’s budget it gave the state’s nursing facilities a cost-of-living increase to ensure funding to increase their workforce.

Healthcare provider businesswoman Ashley Kalus, a Republican candidate, also called for increasing the Medicaid reimbursement rate. “Respect long-term care as a career choice which means there needs to be a path from home health care aide, to certified nursing assistant, licensed practical nursing, registered nurse and Nurse Practitioner through apprenticeship and training programs,” she said.

Former CVS Executive Helena Foulkes supports expanding Medicaid, but we must hold the nursing homes accountable to make sure that the increases of state funding go to workers and not to equity owners of nursing homes.

Healthcare advocate Dr. Luis Daniel Luis Muñoz says we should increase reimbursement rates for providers. He calls for the creation of a state-based medical school to create more dental professionals and physicians. “That is how we can increase the providers necessary to serve Rhode Islanders,’ he says.

Former Secretary of State Matt Brown blamed Rhode Island’s staffing shortage on the General Assembly slashing Medicaid reimbursement rates over the years. He called for an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates and increasing minimum wage to direct care workers in Medicaid nursing facilities to $20 per hour. This would attract workers from Southern Massachusetts, he predicted.

The attending candidates also gave their thoughts as to their strategies for Medicaid rebalancing and the program’s expansion to improve home and community-based care opportunities along with ensuring financial viability of nursing homes.

Muñoz called for a targeted approach to supplementing wages for providers taking care of seniors, noting that “twenty dollars is not a livable wage. We lost the culture of taking care of people,” he said, “but it will take money, increasing providers; but programmatically the state needs to make a commitment to expand its community and home-based programs working with multiple departments, to bring back this culture of care.”

Brown warns that 87 percent of nursing homes are in risk of closing and the state must address this by increasing Medicaid rates so as to give these facilities the financial stability they need. As to home care, pay must be increased to direct home care workers. But do not forget about family caregivers.

“We do not have an adequate paid Family Leave program in the state,” he says. As Governor, Brown would call for creation of a program to give 16 weeks of adequate pay.

Kalus calls for seniors to be placed in the least restricted setting. There should be adequate senior housing available to allow a person to live independently in the community. “We must reimage the continuum of care,” says Kalus, stressing that different types of care must be working together.

According to Kalus, if you go to a hospital there should be an incentive to discharge you to a nursing home with rehab, if that is possible, and then provide an incentive to move a person to less restricted continuum of care from there, such as home care and then independent living. An organization, like an Accountable Care Organization, must ensure there are no incentives to keep you in one type of care environment, over a less restrictive one, she says.

McKee touted the $10 million dollars invested this year to rebalance the long-term care continuum. He announced that he plans to shortly issue an Executive Order to direct state agencies to review existing policies through a healthy aging lens and address accessibility and impacts on Rhode Island’s aging population. He will also direct state agencies to appoint a representative to the task force that will create a Statewide Aging Plan.

Foulkes called for the state to create a long-term comprehensive plan for providing programs and services for seniors. Politicians seem to implement short term fixes year to year, making small timeframe moves. She urges improving discharge planning and technology and compensating family members to keep seniors at home. Nursing home care should be changed to provide single rooms with single-use bathrooms to ensure their dignity of living in a nursing home, and prevent spread of infectious diseases, a lesson learned from the pandemic.

Gorbea says Rhode Island is “clearly off the mark” as to how it spends its Medicaid dollars on home care services. Twenty six percent of the state’s Medicaid budget is spent on home care, compared to many states allocating over 41 percent. “That’s where we have to go,” she says. “If you are going to encourage people to stay at home, you must have housing and transit options,” she notes.

In Retrospect…

“While there were similar opinions, each candidate presented their own perspective,” said SACRI’s Beaudreau, noting that he did not hear anything anyone said that would be objectionable to aging advocates. “We now have on record their pledge and commitment that there will be a plan and anaction agenda that will benefit all seniors of the state,” says Beaudreau, “if they are elected Rhode Island’s 77th Governor next November.

“It is clear we have a slate of very quality candidates,” says Beaudreau at the conclusion of the forum.

Maureen Maigret, chair of the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council’s Aging in Community Subcommittee and SACRI Board Member stated, “the Forum exceeded my expectations in terms of attendance (in-person and virtual), and I consider it an absolute success.”

Maigret reported that all candidates supported: “making the Office of Healthy Aging a full cabinet/department with review of sufficiency of resources; expansion of Medicare Savings Program which I have been advocating for at least 5 years and adding a state COLA to SSI payments; requiring better data on minority older adult inclusion; addressing community living, housing and transportation needs of older persons and developing and implementing a comprehensive, interdepartmental strategic Plan on Aging.

What was most important is that this event made them really pay attention to the fact the state has a significantly growing number of older persons which calls for transformative change. By highlighting some policies needed to address these demographic changes and getting candidates on record in support of them, they can be held accountable,” says Maigret. “The other significant outcome was to have so many co-sponsors come together in support of the policies put forward,” she added.

“There needs to be immediate leadership and follow-thru with all appropriate stakeholders to design and implement a seamless state/local delivery system for “aging in place” services, including increased care payments and efficient reimbursement to providers,” says Vincent Marzullo, well-known aging advocate who served as a federal civil rights and national service administrator. “With vision and commitment, Rhode Island can be a more appealing retirement community by aggressively addressing healthcare disparities and elevating the RI Office on Healthy Aging to full Departmental status with broader authority/responsibilities. This conversation must now include our General Assembly leaders,” said Marzullo, a West Warwick resident who serves on SACRI’s Board.

Co-sponsoring this event was a broad coalition of 18 service providers and advocates: 

A Community Together, Alzheimer’s Association of RI, Carelink, Community Partners Network of RI, Economic Progress Institute, Leading Age RI, NAACP Providence Branch, Ocean State Center for Independent Living, PACE, Progreso Latino, RI Assisted Living Association, RI Elder Info, RI Health Care Association, RI Organizing Project, RI Senior Centers Directors Association, SEIU Healthcare 1199, Senior Agenda Coalition of RI and Village Common of RI.

To watch the forum, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okQ5FguKMao.

For info about the Senior Agenda Coalition of Rhode Island, go to https://senioragendari.org/.

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Study: COVID-19 Changes Way Americans Think About Retirement

Published in RINewsToday on November 23

The raging coronavirus pandemic is changing the fundamental way working adults think, plan and save for their retirement, underscoring the important role Social Security and Medicare play for retirees, according to the 2020 Wells Fargo Retirement study conducted by The Harris Poll in August. The annual research report examines the attitudes and savings of working adults, taking a look this year on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retirees.

For those workers whose jobs were negatively impacted by COVID-19 over the last eight months, the Wells Fargo study found that planning for retirement has become even more challenging, with many survey respondents expressing “pessimism” about their life in retirement – or worried if they can even retire. 

This year’s Harris Poll conducted 4,590 online interviews, from Aug.3-Aug. 24, including 2,660 working Americans age 18-76 whose employment was not impacted by COVID-19, 725 Americans age 18-76 whose employment was impacted by coronavirus pandemic, 200 high net worth American workers age 18-76, and 1,005 retired Americans, surveying attitudes and behaviors around planning their finances, saving, and investing for retirement.

According to the Wells Fargo study’s findings, 58 percent of workers impacted by the pandemic say they now don’t know if they have enough savings for retirement because of COVID-19, compared to 37 percent of all workers. Moreover, among workers impacted by coronavirus, 70 percent say they are worried about running out of money during their retirement while 61 percent say they are much more afraid of life in retirement, and 61 percent note that pandemic took the joy out of looking forward to retirement.

The study, released Oct. 21, found that COVID-19 has driven some workers even further behind in saving for retirement: Working men reported median retirement savings of $120,000, which compares to $60,000 for working women, say the researchers.  Yet for those impacted by COVID-19, men report median retirement savings of $60,000, which compares to $21,000 for women.

“With individual investors now largely responsible for saving and funding their own retirement, disruptive events and economic downturns can have an outsized impact on their outlook,” said Nate Miles, head of Retirement for Wells Fargo Asset Management in a statement releasing the findings of this study. “Our study shows that even for the most disciplined savers, working Americans are not saving enough for retirement. The good news is that for many of today’s workers, there is still time to save and prepare,” he says.

Taking a Close Look on Retirement Savings

The Wells Fargo study also found that women and younger generations are falling behind, too. Women are less sure if they will be able to save enough for retirement, and appear to be in a more precarious financial situation than men. The study findings indicate that almost half of working women (51 percent) say they are saving enough for retirement, or that they are confident they will have enough savings to live comfortably in retirement (51 percent). Those impacted by COVID-19 have saved less than half for retirement than men and are much more pessimistic about their financial lives. In addition, women impacted by COVID-19 are less likely to have access to an employer-sponsored retirement savings plan (59 percent), and are less likely to participate (77 percent).

According to the researchers, Generation Z workers (born between 1997 to 2012) started saving at an earlier age and are participating in employer-based savings programs at a greater rate than other generations, they are nonetheless worried about their future. Fifty-two percent of Generation Z workers say they don’t know if they’ll be able to save enough to retire because of COVID-19, 50 percent say they are much more afraid of life in retirement due to COVID-19, and 52 percent say the pandemic took the joy out of looking forward to retirement.

Remaining Optimistic

“The study found incredible optimism and resiliency among American workers and retirees, which is remarkable in the current [pandemic] environment,” said Kim Ta, head of Client Service and Advice for Wells Fargo Advisors. “As an industry, we must help more investors make a plan for their future so that optimism becomes a reality in retirement,” she said.

The Wells Fargo study findings showed that despite a challenging economy, many American workers and retirees remain optimistic about their current life, their future. Seventy nine percent of the workers say they are very or somewhat satisfied with their current life, in control of their financial life (79 percent), are able to pay their monthly bills (95 percent).  Eight six percent say they are still able to manage their finances.

The study’s findings indicate that 69 percent of workers and 73 percent of retirees feel in control and/or happy about their financial situation. Ninety two percent of the workers and 91 precent of retirees say they can positively affect their financial situation, and 90 percent of workers and 88 percent of retirees say they can positively affect how their debt situation progresses.

The researchers noted that 83 percent of workers say they could pay for a financial emergency of $1,000 without having to borrow money from friends or family. However, the respondents acknowledged they could improve their financial planning. Slightly more than half — 54 percent of workers and 50 percent of retirees — say they a detailed financial plan, and just 27 percent of workers and 29 percent of retirees have a financial advisor.

The study’s findings indicated that most respondents acknowledged that they could improve their financial planning. Slightly more than half — 54 percent of workers and 50 percent of retirees note they have a detailed financial plan, and just 27 percent of workers and 29 percent of retirees have a financial advisor.

Social Security and Medicare Key to Retiree’s Financial Security

The Wells Fargo study noted that despite an increasing shift to a self-funded retirement, in the midst of the pandemic, nearly all workers and retirees believe that Social Security and Medicare play or will play a significant role in their retirement.  According to the study, 71 percent of workers, 81 percent of those negatively impacted by COVID-19, and 85 percent of retirees say that COVID-19 reinforced how important Social Security and Medicare will be for their retirement. Sixty seven percent of workers say they have no idea what out-of-pocket healthcare costs will be in retirement, say the researchers.

The researchers say that workers expect that Social Security will make up approximately one-third of their monthly budget (30 percent median) in retirement. And even those high-net workers believe that Social Security and Medicare factor significantly into their retirement plans, expecting that the retirement program will cover 20 percent (median) of their monthly expenses.

The majority of the study’s respondents expressed concerns that the programs will not be available when they need them and worry that the government won’t protect them.  Specifically, 76 percent of workers are concerned Social Security will be raided to pay down government debt and 72 percent of workers are afraid that Social Security won’t be available when they retire.

The Wells Fargo study also found that 90 percent of workers would feel betrayed if the money they paid into Social Security is lost and not available when they retire and that 45 percent of workers are optimistic that Congress will make changes to secure the future of Social Security.

COVID-19 Key Issue for Older Voters

Pubished in the Pawtucket Times on November 2, 2020

With Tuesday’s presidential election, hopefully most voters will have reviewed the policy and political positions of President Donald J. Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden.  Throughout the months of this heated political campaign, especially during the two debates and at the town meetings each candidate held on the same evening, their positions diverged sharply on major issues, specifically the economy, immigration, foreign policy, global warming, abortion and COVID-19. In the final stretch of the presidential campaign, winning the war against COVID-19 has quickly become the top issue of voters. 

Over the months, Trump, 74, has barnstormed throughout the country, especially in battleground states, hoping to capture enough electoral votes to win a second term on Nov. 3.  While states reduce the size of gatherings to reduce the spread of COVID-19, throughout the campaign Trump’s rallies have continued to bring thousands of supporters together, with many flaunting local and state coronavirus-related crowd restrictions by not wearing masks or social distancing.  

However, Biden, 77, is always seen wearing a mask, urging his supporters at online and drive-in events to support his candidacy.  At those events, the former vice president called Trump rallies “super-spreader events,” and he stressed the importance of following the advice of public health and medical experts as to preventing the spread of COVID-19.

Differing Views on COVID-19

The 2020 presidential campaign has been overshadowed by the COVID 19 pandemic, with 9 million confirmed cases, 227,000 Americans dying from the coronavirus and an economic downturn forcing more than 31 million people to file for unemployment. During his rallies, Trump claimed “the nation has turned the corner,” calling for the country to “return to normalcy” even as COVID 19 hot spots were popping up across the nation.  Trump also promised the development of a vaccine and distribution after the election and treatment regimens.  Lately, he has suggested that physicians and hospitals are just inflating the number of COVID-19 deaths for profit, drawing the ire of the American Medical Association.

At an Oct. 18 Nevada rally, Trump charged that if Biden is elected there will be more coronavirus pandemic lockdowns because “he’ll listen to the scientists.” The president charged that will result “in a massive depression.”

In stark contrast, Biden countered Trump’s call for normalcy and his rosy assessment of a COVID-19 vaccine release by stating, “We’re about to go into a dark winter…He [has no clear plan, and there’s no prospect that a vaccine is going to be available for the majority of the American people before the middle of next year.”

 Oftentimes, Trump’s messaging of the importance of wearing a mask has not been clear, often times contradicting the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention and the White House COVID-19 Task Force.  “I was okay with the masks.  I was good with it, but I’ve heard very different stories on masks,” he said during his town hall on NBC on Oct. 15.   The president opposes a mandate requiring the wearing of masks and favors leaving this decision to state governors and local leaders.

Turning a Deaf Ear to Public Health Experts

As COVID-19 spreads like wildfire across the nation, Trump and many of his supporters at his large campaign gatherings and even some GOP lawmakers continue to not wear masks or practice social distancing to stop the spread of the disease, their actions ignoring the warnings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House COVID-19 Task Force.

According to an Oct. 12 CNN tweet, “Dr. Fauci says Pres. Trump resuming in-person rallies is “asking for trouble” and “now is… a worse time to do that because when you look at what’s going on in the United States it’s really very troublesome. A number of states, right now, are having increase in test positivity.”

During an interview with CNBC on Oct. 28, Reuters reported, that Dr. Fauci stated, “We are in a very different trajectory.  We’re going in the wrong direction,” noting the COVID-19 cases are increasing in 47 states and hospitals are being overwhelmed by these patients.”

“If things do not change,” Dr. Fauci warned, “If they continue on the course we’re on, there’s gonna be a whole lot of pain in this country with regard to additional cases and hospitalizations and deaths.”

Now researchers are beginning to shed light on Trump’s large rally gatherings and the spread of the COVID-19 among the supporters who attended the events.

Zach Nayer, a resident at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News, and a colleague reviewed the number of new COVID-19 cases for the 14 days before and after each Trump rally from late June to a Sept. 25 Newport News event, and published their findings on Oct. 16 on the health news site STAT.

According to the researchers, the spikes in COVID-19 cases occurred in seven of the 14 cities and townships where rallies were held: Tulsa, Oklahoma; Phoenix; Old Forge, Pa.; Bemidji and Mankato in Minnesota; and Oshkosh and Weston, Wis.

Meanwhile on Oct. 30, Stanford researchers, studying 18 Trump rallies (between June 20 and Sept. 22) concluded that those large events resulted in more than 30,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and likely caused more than 700 deaths among attendees and their close contacts.

No End in Sight

Don’t expect the COVID-19 pandemic to end soon as the number of those infected and deaths continue to spiral out of control.  

According to the COVID Tracking Project, COVID-19 cases increased by 97,080 on Oct. 31, by far the largest one-day jump since the beginning of the pandemic last March, with Midwestern states leading a wave of infections, hospitalizations and deaths across the nation just before the Tuesday’s presidential election.  Experts say that those statistics refutes Trumps charges that the number of COVID 19 cases is growing due to increased testing. 

America’s oldest seniors have lived through the 1918 flu pandemic, the stock market crash of 1929, the Great Depression and World War II. Now they, along with aging Baby Boomers, face the risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19.  Among adults, the risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age. According to AARP, 95 percent of the people across the nation that have died of COVID-19 were 50 and older even though most of the coronavirus cases have been reported in younger than 50.

Before older voters cast their ballots they must consider which presidential candidate’s leadership style can marshal the nation’s resources and devise the best strategy to combat COVID-19 and stop its spread. 

Do we reopen the nation, opening schools and businesses or do we consider lockdowns if recommended by the nation’s public health and medical experts?  Do we consider a “national mask mandate” or do we just leave it up to state governors to decide whether to implement an order requiring people to wear them in public? 

Your vote matters. For you older voters, it just might save your life.

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